Monday, May 4, 2015

What just happened? BY: KB © 5.4.15

My great nephew, not quite 2 years old, loves to dance; like a modern day Martha Graham he just feels the music and the follows his body. He does this crazy thing with his arm that just cracks me up. I have to tell you that the songs he chooses to feel have me a bit distressed. Right now, his current favorite is uptown funk (Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars)  I love the song and his various dance moves crack me up but yesterday I got to hear and see some of his favorite dance track videos and I was really distressed…not so much by him dancing but that one day he’s going to grow up enough to understand and maybe embrace the troubling aspects of theses seemingly harmless videos.

The first video I saw was Beyonce….now there are some people who call me a hater because I often decry Beyonce and her presence…but I have to say that I won’t back down…that the people who hold her up as some type of feminist icon have NO CLUE as to what feminism is about. I personally believe that she has set feminism back with her deplorable over-sexualized performances. She reminds me of the old Blaxsploitation films where the Black woman is nothing more than a sex object….my question is are you really in a position of power when you’re your own pimp? You’re still being used!

I saw 7/11 for the first time yesterday and I was appalled; first, that someone would take the time to film this garbage and try to pass it off as a song and video. Second, the “come and get it” style of burlesque bump and grind dancing. (Her mother must be so proud…) Third, you can look at the video and Beyonce’s eyes and see that there is obviously a substance involved in such an illicit performance.

The song selection went from Beyonce to someone named Jidenna and the song Classic Man. The song is catchy and the video is cool but I was left taken aback with the liberal use of M.F.  I know we had Prince’s Black album along with Darlin’ Nikki and Sexy M.F., we had Too Short and several other controversial artists for our times….but that doesn't mean we had to buy it and listen to it like it was the thing to do. I know how to swear….I often refer to it as my family’s second language but as a person who claims and clings to a higher calling and purpose I cannot continue to use and accept the insanity of others. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not claiming perfection or being better than I can and will often revert back to the familiar and common when I’m hard pressed, what I’m talking about is maturation and evolution. I’m talking about expanding the mind and the horizons of your life to seek better and to improve on what our forefathers prepared for us.

Think about these things the next time you listen to some crazy lyrics….think about this the next time you hear a brother call another brother the N  word. Think about it the next time you hear a woman claim an alter-ego or embrace the word bitch.


How ya livin’?!!

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